5.11.2012

During my stay in Ireland, my main home base was in Enniskerry. I stayed in the house my Dad grew up in. It's now a B & B run by my Aunt and Uncle.

Oddly enough there was some crafty inspiration in this small town just outside of Dublin. I found Galerie Lisette across the street from the B & B. You can take an upcycling workshop through Galerie Lisette.

Avoca is an Irish family-run business that designs and manufactures hand woven rugs and throws. They are beautiful! I didn't have a chance to go to the store on the weekend but they do have a weaver on site on Saturdays and Sundays.

One of the treats I bought myself was an Avoca throw. They are truly gorgeous and fun!

One of the other crafty peeps I came across in my travels was Orla Kiely. Purses and yes chocolates... FAB design and yummy Butler's Chocolates. Great combo!

Next post I'll feature some of my favourite pics... I'm hoping to look into printing some of my photos this weekend. I mainly used Instagram. I'd like to get some photos printed to send to my relatives since I managed to get some great shots of my cousins, their kids, etc.

5.08.2012

Well I'm back! After 3 weeks of touring around in London and then Ireland, I'm feeling refreshed and inspired. A few stops in London that were great for craftiness include Portobello Market, Spitalfields Market, Petticoat Lane Market and Brick Lane Market and then the Tate Gallery gift store.

I spent one of my first days in London exploring Portobello Market. It was an amazing trek and the market was filled with funky wares.

I came across some upcycled ceramics via Melody Rose. Old vintage plates, cups, etc that have been reloved.

Thought these were hilarious - dainty plates with skulls on them.

And of course I went into this one shop that had everything imaginable with the 'keep calm' motif on it.

I also found a store with the most amazing selection of drawer pulls... They even had a room full of them! I was tempted but, with the exchange rate, they were too pricey for a thrifty girl like me.

So many stalls along the street with kewl items... Loved these letterpress stamps!

And these ones!

And then there was the giant matryoshka doll. I guess it could be useful for storage. Anyways one of those things that you have to take a photo of!

This clothing store had a wall of old sewing machines. Kind of nifty...

Later in my stay I went to the Spitalfields Market, Petticoat Lane Market and Brick Lane Market with a friend. Thankfully they are all close to each other! It's unbelievable the amount of stuff available and the range of items.

This is the Petticoat Lane Market...

You can find clothing, shoes, socks, purses, toiletries... Anything!

After braving the outdoor markets, we checked out Spitalfields Market. Loved being indoors - it was bitterly cold and windy out! This market is definitely more high end than Petticoat Lane Market. Lots of kewl craftiness to be found!

And lots of beautiful things to see... Like the flower stands...

Extremely tempting baked goods... The shortbread with Belgian chocolate and nuts looked amazing but I resisted.

During my stay in London I managed to do a lot of walking around and checking out the sights. I meant to visit the Tate Gallery but ran out of time. On my last day, I at least checked out the gift store. Yup - ya gotta love art!

Next update will be some craftiness from Ireland and then maybe a post featuring non-crafty highlights from my travels. It was the perfect trip!

Denise Corcoran (aka Thrifty By Design) is a local author, crafter, upcycler and workshop facilitator based in North Vancouver, BC. Her passion is to turn 'junk' into new and funky pieces. She shares her enthusiasm for crafting and upcycling by facilitating 'Crafternoons' throughout Vancouver.